One Night
by JanxAngel
Summary: Bobby's bored, so he decides to take a walk and finds more than he ever expected.


Hey there everyone. This was written in response to a "First line, last line" challenge on the USA message boards. I thought it came out pretty well for writing it in less than three hours. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, Legal stuff. Don't own Bobby. Just for fun.

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Bobby thought it would never end. Day after day, night after night, at work, at home, no matter where he went, or what he did it was always there. Boredom. He never thought that the job would ever get boring to him, but at least for now, it seemed like it had all become so… same. No new challenges to face, no unique criminal mind to unravel, just run of the mill perps doing run of the mill crimes.

At home it was more boredom. He had read everything on his bookshelves, in some cases several times, and now they all looked alike. He didn't go out very much, but when he did he felt like he was looking at a sea of faces which he didn't recognize, but all blurred into one face over and over again, repeating to infinity. He had always had a decent imagination he thought, but for some reason he couldn't seem to come up with a way to shake this ennui.

As he sat at home staring at walls yet again, he decided that his situation had finally reached a critical point, and that more drastic measures needed to be taken to remedy it. He quickly got dressed in his old jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of boots hiding in the back of his closet. On his search through the closet he found an old leather coat as well, pulling it on as he went out the door.

Bobby stood on the sidewalk in front of his building and wondered where he was going next. On a whim he decided to walk down to the subway and take the first train that came in, just to see where it would take him. He had been all over the city before, but as he boarded the train, he realized that he probably hadn't come close to seeing all of it. This would be an adventure in exploration.

A couple of hours a few train changes later, Bobby got off the subway at the 1st Ave station, then turned down 14th St. As he got closer to the corner of 14th and Avenue B, he noticed a group of people walking by, all dressed rather strangely. They wore mostly all black, and though they looked somewhat like goth people, their outfits looked a bit too nice for a typical example of the subculture.

A few more were passing by as he reached the corner, and one girl, preoccupied with rummaging in her bag for something, had fallen behind her friends. Since she wasn't looking where she was going, she stumbled on the cracked pavement, nearly falling to the ground if Bobby hadn't been there to catch her.

"Are you… OK," he asked?

"Damn it. Yeah I'm fine," she said, putting her hand to her tiny hat as she stood up again. "I'm really sorry…" she trailed off as she looked up at her 'rescuer'.

"Did you lose something?"

"Huh?" She shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm sure I didn't lose it, I just didn't put it in my bag tonight. It's not a big deal, just annoying."

"That's good. Well, not good you don't have it… but good you didn't lose it."

She laughed lightly. "I understand. Thanks for keeping from twisting up my ankle too. No fun sitting around while everyone else is dancing."

"No problem. If you don't mind me asking, where are you headed to? I mean, you look like you might be goth, but you seem a little more… Victorian."

"Oh! There's a club down the street that has a gothic night every week. I'm not typical and neither are a bunch of my friends. We're into the more romantic style, and I picked up on Elegant Gothic Lolita/Aristocrat from Japan, and then there's a little bit of Steampunk thrown in on the side… Oh goddess! Listen to me ramble on. I'm sorry."

Bobby chuckled slightly, "No it's OK. I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't interested in the answer. It sounds very different from what I've heard about the… genre." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the ground from beneath his long lashes. "Umm… I wonder… No nevermind."

"What?" she asked, as she cocked her head to one side and dipping her shoulder, trying to catch his eyes with her own again.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, and I know I just met you randomly on the street, but… would it be OK if I tagged along? I'm kind of trying to get myself out of a… rut I've been in and so I just took off and randomly rode the subway seeing where I would end up."

"Oh! Like an adventure!"

"Uh, something like that I guess. Questing to snap out of the boredom I've been stuck in."

"I can totally respect that. You're trying to broaden your horizons, seek new challenges and experiences, gain a new perspective, right?"

Bobby looked at the girl again, this time taking her in as a new person instead of another copy of the sea of faces. She was pretty, long red hair, shining green eyes made all the more dramatic by the dark green shadow she wore and her milk pale skin. "Yeah. That's about right."

"Well then good sir, I shall allow you to escort me down the way to establishment of entertainment forthwith," she replied. "By the way, my name is Lilly."

"I would be honored to escort you, my lady Lilly. A perfect name for such a captivating blossom such as yourself," Bobby said as he bowed and brushed the back of her hand with his lips. "My name is Robert, but everyone calls me Bobby."

"Well then Bobby, shall we be off for a long night of revelry, drink, dance, and unwholesome fun? Perhaps so long as to see the sun rise again to tour the skies of day once more?"

"As you wish my lady. Tis your world and I am a stranger in it. I defer to your guidance, and hope that it will lead to an enchanted evening such as I have never had before."

She laughed as she wound her arm through his offered elbow as they made their way down the street to the club. Soon she was introducing him to her various friends and acquaintances, who he was surprised to realize seemed for the most part to accept him as he was. Lilly in turn was startled to discover that Bobby was an excellent dancer, even to the (to him) exotic strains of Dead Can Dance, Abney Park, Razed In Black, The Cure, and VNV Nation. They had several rounds with so many people he lost track of them all. After last call a large group adjourned to the "lounge" of an all night café on the next block. Bobby's next surprise of the evening was that the topics of conversation ranged from the expected of music, new films, and pop culture, to philosophy, religion, science, technology, and ethics.

It was after five AM when the group finally broke up for the night. Bobby and Lilly were left sitting together, and Bobby thought that he should be heading home as well. He was just about to say so when Lilly spoke first.

"Why don't you come to my house?"

He nearly choked on the last of his coffee. "What??"

"You should come to my house. We've spent all night hanging out, so I'm pretty sure you're not some kind of freak or anything."

"Umm… I don't know… Aren't you tired?"

"No, not really. I probably shouldn't have had all that tea. It'll be fun Bobby! We can go up on the roof and watch the sunrise. If you get tired and don't want to go all the way home you can crash on the pull out."

"Oh!" he said, as he realized what she was suggesting. "Oh sure… Ok. Yeah that sounds good."

"Oh no," she replied. "Did you think I was asking you… Oh dear, I'm sorry. It's not that… I mean, you're a good looking guy and really cool, but I'd want to go out with you a bit more before… I mean not that this was a date… Crap. I really can't get this right."

Bobby smiled gently at her. "It's OK. I understand what you mean."

The look of relief on Lilly's face was plain. "Thanks. I've really enjoyed hanging out with you tonight, and I always like making new friends. I didn't want to drive you away. That's harder than you think for me sometimes…"

"I really understand that. Is your place far?"

"No, just a few blocks. I tried to get into a loft in NoHo, but they said that they wouldn't certify me as an artist. Luckily I found a place nearby that wasn't too expensive, for NYC that is."

"Well let's go then," he said as he once again offered her his arm.

"You are such a wonderful gentleman, you know that? A practically extinct breed."

He smiled bashfully as they walked on.

Lilly's loft was open and breezy, quite contrary to his expectation of black painted walls and heavily curtained windows. The kitchen was small, and there was only a partition wall to define the bedroom, but the rest of the loft was quite large, oddly enough including the bathroom.

"I rebuilt the bathroom after I moved in here," Lilly said. "It was about the size of a closet before, and I couldn't stand it. It needed major work done on it anyway, so the landlord and I made a deal. I could redesign it any way I wanted, as long as I didn't ask for any more money than what had been budgeted for the repair work. So all I can say is, that it's nice to know people in all different trades that will work on barter as well as cash."

"That was very… unusual thinking… for a landlord."

"Well, basically, he didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting a contractor, a plumber, etc. SO, I take care of it for him, he gives me the budget money, and I get the perfect bath. Which I'm going to jump into real fast. We've got a little time until the show starts and afterwards I'm sure I'll be ready to sleep. I hate sleeping with makeup on and stuff in my hair. Make yourself comfy!"

He just sat down on the couch when she called his name from the other room. He jumped up to make sure her ankle hadn't given out once she took her boots off and it was no longer braced by the stiff leather.

"Are you alright? Is it your ankle?"

"No. It's my damn corset. Somehow I pulled the wrong lace and now it's all in a knot. Can you help me please?"

He turned the corner to find her standing in front of her bed in her corset and … bloomers? She was really wearing knee length bloomers underneath her skirts and petticoats. He looked to where she was fumbling with the cords and saw a large snarled knot there.

"You really did a number on this. What would you have done if I wasn't here to help you?"

"Spend half an hour figuring it out by feel."

"Hold your hair up please. I think I can have you out of this pretty quick."

Lilly giggled and tried to hold in the comment that instantly sprang to her mind. Unsuccessfully. "I think you could have any girl out of her corset pretty quick Bobby."

He laughed. "Well considering I thought you were an amazing dancer while wearing one, I'd love to see how you move with it off."

"Oh Bobby! You're so bad!" Lilly giggled, as she turned and swatted his arm. "Thanks for getting it untangled. I'm really in the mood for that shower now."

"No problem," he smiled. "I'll just get comfy on your couch again."

Fifteen minutes later, Lilly came out of her room wearing jeans and a t-shirt, combing her wet hair. Bobby had gotten restless just sitting down so he decided to make breakfast for their sunrise viewing. She was surprised at his gesture, and told him how awesome it was. She found a plastic tote that was clean and empty for them to put the food and drinks into for the short climb to the roof, and then a couple of blankets were found for sitting on. Bobby was ever the gentleman and offered to carry everything. Lilly insisted however that she would help and carried the blankets.

She looked so different since she had bathed and changed clothes. She looked so, not normal, but... natural. Her eyes still shone the same bright green but they had a subtly different quality to them. Maybe he was just tired from being up all night. He suddenly realized that this was the first time in a very long time that he had stayed up all night, and would be watching the sunrise solely by his own choice. It wasn't about work or bad dreams, but because he was having a really good time, with fun people.

They talked some more as they waited for the sky to begin lightening, rambling all over their shared love of books, her art, his love of art, his job, her dreams. They ate the lovely breakfast Bobby had made, drinking juice instead of more caffeine. They wondered what the new day would bring to the little world they had made for a night. All too soon the sky began to shift, from darkness to purple.

"This was a really great night Bobby."

"For me too."

From purple to ruddy orange.

"It seems like I have lots of friends, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

From orange to yellow.

"Really, I'm pretty much always alone. Where it counts."

"I understand that."

From yellow to gold.

"Would you like me to stay, Lilly? As your friend?"

She nodded mutely as her eyes filled with tears and the sun came up.

They went downstairs shortly after that. She had an old pair of sweats from a friend that she loaned to Bobby for pajamas, and she changed into her own. They both crawled into her soft bed and pulled up the covers. As they drifted off to sleep, she felt Bobby put his arm over her and she nestled her back closer against his chest. He felt warm and safe. Lilly was soft and comforting in his arms, the human contact he had so needed but never realized. Bobby thought of how his trip had started out as something to do to try and get over his boredom, and how he had ended up so far from where he had started. How he had managed to find not only a cure for his boredom, but for some of his loneliness as well. As they slept peacefully, for the first time in months, they dreamed of each other. They only said one thing, but it was just what they needed.

With perfect understanding they said, "I love you."


End file.
